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Casey Langford (Group 4) 22595589 Tutor: Amber Crook Essay 1: My Son the Fanatic

The focus of this anthology on men, masculinities and religious change in twentieth-century Britain inevitably leads to the examination of connections between gender, race, ethnicity and religion with a particular focus on masculinity (De Stondy). My Son the Fanatic is written by short story contemporary Hanif Kureishi. Development of the story is through the conflict between father and son. This essay will analyse the relationship between Kureishi’s characterisation of Parvez and the notion of belonging. It will also discuss the manner in which belongings are used to elaborate on the meanings of belonging. In the story, the father Parvez, who works as a taxi driver, emigrated from Pakistan to England with his family twenty years ago. Ali, his son is a college student in England. When Ali begins behaving strangely, Parvez’s suspicion leads him to discover that his son has become a religious Muslim. Although Parvez is born as a Muslim, he does not follow the Islamic rules. The father and son are holding different beliefs and therefore they can hardly accept one another’s moral values anymore. Parvez is not a good husband to his wife, however Kureishi depicts him as a good father. Parvez, in fact, is a good father and he is full of pride for being one. “For years, Parvez had boasted to the other men about how Ali excelled in cricket, swimming, and football, and what an attentive scholar he was, getting A’s in most subjects” (Kureishi 96). He cares for his son and always works overtime to ensure that Ali only got the best things. According to Kureishi, Parvez bought Ali good suits, all the books he required for college, a computer as well as pay for Ali’s education as an accountant (Kureishi 95). Parvez believes that a father should be held responsible for his son and therefore he “blamed other fathers whose son began running around with bad girls, skipping school and joining gangs” (Kureishi 96). Hence, when his son begins behaving suspiciously, he begins to doubt his own character and tries to make things right with his son by reaching out to him and keeping a close eye on him. Parvez as a character has many inadequacies: as a Muslim, he gambles, he drinks liquor, he eats pork, he insults local mullahs and he avoids his loving wife (Kureishi 95-97). Kureishi depicts Parvez as a good man, however with many imperfections, making it somewhat easy for the reader to relate to the character or even the problems he encounters during the story. Parvez may not be a very good Muslim, however his morals are not completely compromised. For example, he saves Bettina (a prostitute in which he confides) from an infuriated and very aggressive client. Parvez is a cultural liberal. He believes in the ways of modern England, despite being a Muslim. This means that, as an immigrant, he is meant to blend in instead of stand out. There is a sense of belonging that Parvez has and this is evident

as he accepts what England has to suggest, even discarding his own cultural and spiritual background. Parvez believes that his duty is to provide for his family by making money in the opportunities England presents for him, as well as ensuring that his son follows in the England way of living. Parvez tries his outmost best to provide for his son’s studies as best he can so that Ali can proclaim the “good English values” to the next generation by studying at university, obtaining a position at a high status accounting firm, and carrying on the same materialist procedure but to a much higher level than Parvez has come to represent. When Parvez is told by his son that he is breaking the rules of the Koran (Kureishi 101), Parvez only shrugs, or answers with “for instance” (Kureishi 101). Parvez orders his own wife to cook pork, saying to her, “you’re not in the village anymore, this is England. We have to fit in!” (Kureishi 101). Ali told his father, “You are too implicated in Western civilisation” (Kureishi 101), to which Parvez responds, “but we live here” (Kureishi 102), this contributes to his notion of belonging as he feels as though he has to conform to the rules in England. Parvez tells Ali that he likes it in England because “they let you do almost anything here” (Kureishi 102), this is however Ali’s problem with England. It is evident to see that Ali is desperately trying to hold onto his religion, whereas his father seems to be abandoning it. Many different physical belongings help to convey the meanings of belonging and the idea of conformity. This is clear to see by contrasting the son’s belongings and actions with that of his father. Parvez notices his son’s behaviour has shifted tremendously when he notices his son’s computer disks, videotapes, books and trendy clothes beside his garbage bin. His father notices that Ali has thrown out all of his possessions such as his television, video player, stereo system as well as his guitar. When Ali begins growing a beard and praying five times a day, Parvez does not recognise or understand his son’s behaviour. Parvez not only has problems understanding his son, but also misunderstands his son’s choice of actions by interpreting his behaviour as that of a drug addict. Ali’s sense of belonging therefore contrasts with his fathers, as his actions are a reflection of his loyalty to his religion, which can be seen as his notion of belonging. His father however is the complete opposite in comparison to Ali as he is abandoning his religion and culture in order to fit in, in the Western world. It is clear to see that Parvez suffers from his son’s ‘fanaticism’ towards him. He even beings to cry, “Parvez’s eyes filled with tears” (Kureishi 102) and tries everything to reconcile with his son so they could be ‘brothers’ again. Parvez had mentioned to Bettina that he is willing to pray (Kureishi 103) in order to reconcile with his son. Parvez began growing a beard, in hopes of connecting and understanding his son better, however Ali had not paid any attention to this change his father had made. This slight change in the father could contribute to his notion of belonging, however this belonging is not a sense of conformity in England but rather the idea that he wants to cling onto his relationship with his son by trying to put himself in his son’s shoes.

In conclusion it is evident that Kureishi wants the reader to see Ali as the fanatic due to him disobeying his father, however at the end of the story Kureishi turns it around when Ali asks his father “Who’s the fanatic now” (Kureishi 107). It is obvious from the above evidence that the father and son do not share the same belief system as the son is deeply holding onto his religion whereas his father is abandoning it as he feels an urge to fit into Western civilisation. This different values and beliefs that these two characters have, creates animosity and conflict between the two of them, causing the father and son to lose their relationship. [Word count: 1196]

Reference List De Sondy, Amanullah. "British Pakistani Masculinities: Longing and Belonging". Men, Masculinities and Religious Change in Twentieth-Century Britain, 2013, pp. 252-278. Palgrave Macmillan UK. Kureishi, Hanif. My Son the Fanatic. ProQuest LLC, 2009....